1. Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs below.
budget get into debt knock down overcharge
shop around snap up
I have to buy lots of things at the beginning of the university year. I 1) _______ carefully for everything I need to buy and the most expensive things are books. So, I always 2) _______ and see which shops are selling things the cheapest as I don’t want to 3) _______ before the year has even started. Fortunately, I saw a 10% discount on books at a local bookshop and decided quickly to 4) _______ the ones that I needed. However, the shop almost 5) _______ me! They had forgotten to 6) _______ the price of the books by 10% on their computers.
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1) budget 2) shop around 3) get into debt 4) snap up
5) overcharged 6) knock down
2. Listen to five dialogues about money. Match sentences A-F with speakers 1-5. There is one extra sentence.
This speaker ___
a has been spending too much money and has got into debt.
b hasn’t picked up any bargains.
c explained that she was almost overcharged for something.
d has been haggling at a local market.
e has splashed out on something that cost a lot.
f has been budgeting for a future activity that will cost a lot of money.
Show answers
1) B 2) F 3) E 4) A 5) C
Transcript
See exercise 2.
3. Listen again and complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs below.
afford knock down overspend shop around snap up
1) Speaker 1 has been ______________ all day.
2) Speaker 2 thinks she will be able to ______________ everything on her trip if she saves money.
3) Speaker 3 was about to ______________ the price of her laptop by 10%.
4) Speaker 4 has ______________ and had to borrow money from a friend.
5) Speaker 5 says she ______________ some shoes in the sale.
Show answers
1) shopping around 2) afford 3) knock down
4) overspent 5) snapped up
Transcript
1)
Ava Hi Layla, have you bought anything?
Layla No, I haven’t bought a thing. I’ve been in town all day, in all kinds of shops, but I haven’t managed to find a dress that I like and everything is so expensive too. I was hoping to find something cheap.
Ava Why don’t you wait for the sales?
Layla Yeah, I think I’ll have to!
2)
Alfie What have you been doing?
Lily Planning InterRail trip around Europe for next summer.
Alfie That sounds fun. Will it be expensive?
Lily Well, I’ve been online and found the cheapest rail tickets and camp sites that I can. I’ve also made a list of all possible expenses – you know, food and things like that – and I think I should be able to pay for everything if I save up the money from Saturday job.
3)
Jack Wow, when did you get that new laptop?
Ella Last week.
Jack It must have been expensive.
Ella It was – although I managed to persuade them to give me a 10% discount because I’m a student! I’ve been planning to buy it for a while and I spent all savings on it. I want a good laptop for university and this one’s got a really good screen and a lot of memory.
Jack Well, it certainly looks good!
4)
Ben What’s the matter, Max?
Max I’ve splashed out on things that I didn’t need and I’ve had to borrow some money from Lisa to pay for ticket for next week’s concert. Now I’ll have to stay in for a few weeks so I can pay her back.
Ben Well, we’ve got exams soon so you can use the time for revising!
5)
Sam I see you’ve been to the sales!
Kate I certainly have! I got a pair of shoes that I really liked at half price! I got to the shop early so I’d get them before anybody else saw them.
Sam Well done!
Kate Although the shop assistant gave me a shock when I went to pay for them. She wanted to charge me full price!
Sam Why?
Kate They’d forgotten to put the sales price into the computer, so there was one price on the shoes and another in the computer. Anyway, they sorted it out and I got a bargain!
4. Complete the sentences with one word in each gap.
1) If you overspend, you might get into ______________
2) If you ______________ at the market, the stall owner might knock ______________ the price.
3) If you ______________ around, you might find things cheaper.
4) If you shop in the sales, you might ______________ up some bargains.
5) If you ______________ for how much you can spend before you go shopping, you won’t spend more money than you can ______________
6) It’s always a good idea to check the receipt after you buy something to make sure you haven’t been ______________
Show answers
1) debt 2) haggle, down 3) shop 4) pick
5) budget, afford 6) overcharged
5. Replace the underlined phrases with the words below.
delivery items notification reviews track wish list
I’ve been waiting for a number of 1 goods that I ordered online. I had a 2 list of things that I wanted and decided to buy everything on it! I’ve been to the website to 3 follow the progress of order, but there’s no information. Neither have I received a 4 message with information about 5 when they will brings the goods to house. The 6 customer opinions of this site were positive, but experience of it isn’t!
Show answers
1) items 2) wish list 3) track 4) notification
5) delivery 6) reviews
6. Complete the definitions.
1) A w______ l______ is a list of things that you want to buy.
2) A c______ o______ is a place where you pay for goods.
3) A n______ is information sent to someone about something.
4) An i______ is an individual unit, often part of a list or group.
5) A b______ is a place on a website where you can see the goods you have decided to buy. It is also a physical thing that you use in a supermarket.
6) A r______ is an opinion about a product or service.
7) A d______ involves goods, letters, parcels, etc. being taken to a person’s house, office, or place of work.
8) When you t______ something, you follow it by using a website or electronic equipment.
Show answers
1) wish list 2) check out 3) notification 4) item
5) basket 6) review 7) delivery 8) track
Extra exercises
1. Complete the sentences with the verbs below.
afford knock down rip off shop around snap up splash out
1) Some restaurants try to ______________ their customers by demanding a 20% service charge.
2) I missed the bus but I couldn’t ______________ a taxi so I had to walk.
3) When I get paid at the end of the summer, I’m going to ______________ on a new smartphone.
4) You’ll probably save money if you ______________ before buying a new laptop.
5) I’m hoping to ______________ a bargain in the sales.
6) They’ll probably ______________ the price of those watches if no one buys them.
Show answers
1) rip off 2) afford 3) splash out 4) shop around
5) snap up 6) knock down
2. Complete the sentences with words related to online shopping.
1) I created a w_______ l_______ on a site selling computer games. Before birthday, I gave it to parents.
2) It’s a good idea to look through the details of your order when you get to the c_______.
3) I’m going to check b_______ to make sure everything I want to order is in there.
4) The great thing about that company is that you can t_______ the progress of your order.
5) I usually try to order several i_______ at once to save on postage and packing.
6) Most of the online r_______ said the camera wasn’t very good, so I decided not to buy it.
Show answers
1) wish list 2) checkout 3 basket 4 track 5) items
6) reviews / reviewers
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